Old South Restaurant reopened Friday after it was closed earlier in the week by the state for failure to pay sales tax revenue.

The popular Russellville eatery was shut down Monday for nonpayment of delinquent taxes totaling more than $32,000.

A restaurant employee who answered the phone at the business Friday morning said the restaurant was open. He said he could make no other comments about the business.

Tom Atchley, excise tax administrator with the state Department of Finance and Administration, said Tuesday the restaurant owed $32,395.52 in state and local sales tax.

On Monday afternoon, the restaurant was closed and signs were posted alerting the public the business had been closed by the state because of unpaid sales taxes. The taxes were paid this week and the restaurant allowed to reopen.

Atchley told The Courier that Old South Inc. was notified of sales tax nonpayment on March 11, and a tax lien against the restaurant was filed at the Pope County Courthouse.

The lien provides a method for the state to claim money owed in the event property is sold by the owner.

The closure process begins when a business owes three months of sales tax receipts within a 24-month period, Atchley said.

When the tax liability is paid, the restaurant can reopen.

Old South Restaurant opened April 4, 1947.

The diner was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1999.